Daily Archives: 08/28/2014

On September 21st, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world will descend on New York City for the Peoples Climate March to call on world leaders and insist on immediate and drastic action to avoid climate catastrophe. Will you join them?Amazon Watch will accompany several grassroots leaders from the Amazon – including Patricia Gualinga, indigenous leader from the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and a group of youth representing the civil society collective, Yasunidos.

We are joining thousands in NY to promote the global call to Keep the Oil in the Ground, from the Amazon to the Arctic. We will also be calling on global leaders, institutions and companies to respect the rights of indigenous peoples, who are key stewards of the environment and hold many of the keys to stopping climate change. In the coming weeks, we’ll send you more information about events planned in New York and how you can join us.

For far too long, the power sector, and especially coal-fired power plants, have had free reign to dump billions of tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere — at enormous cost to our communities’ health and prosperity.

Thankfully, earlier this year the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a thoughtful, flexible, and comprehensive action called the Clean Power Plan, which proposes carbon pollution standards for states and their existing power plants.

While two-thirds of Americans support the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, the EPA faces misinformation campaigns and heavy pressure from the fossil fuel industry and their special interests in Washington, DC. That’s why we need you to show your support for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, right now.

If we allow this country’s worst polluters to continue to dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into our atmosphere, we will see catastrophic repercussions — particularly among the nation’s most vulnerable communities. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan helps establish a level playing field for cleaner, affordable and more secure energy and will protect the health and safety of our communities for the next generation.

The fate of South Atlantic whales hangs in the balance. Just one country’s vote could save these whales — or doom them.

I’m heading to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meetings, where nations will vote on creating a whale and dolphin sanctuary of the entire South Atlantic Ocean from the Equator to Antarctica. The last time this plan was proposed, whales lost by one vote.

In the past, Japan has put intense pressure on other nations to vote in their interest, even giving bribes. This year, we need to convince at least one of these countries that living whales are worth more than Japan’s gifts. That country is Tanzania.

Greenpeace will soon be delivering Tanzania’s president a letter, outlining all the reasons that his country should support whales. But he also needs to hear from you.

Why will Tanzania listen to us? This small country benefits greatly from tourists visiting the Serengeti and whale-watching in the Indian Ocean, which is already an IWC designated whale sanctuary.

Tanzania has taken incredible steps to protect its own wildlife — but two years ago, it voted against creating a sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic Ocean. Tanzania’s vote was all about money. But together we can show them that voting with Japan is bad for their tourism industry.

This hypocrisy could be the only thing standing in the way of the South Atlantic whale sanctuary. If the Tanzanian government chooses to side with Japan — again — it needs to know that it risks losing tourism dollars from the thousands of nature lovers who visit their wildlife preserves and go whale watching in Tanzania every year.

Together we’ve already won many victories for whales: the current global moratorium on commercial whaling, stopping dangerous seismic testing off the coast of California, exposing Japan’s vote-buying at the IWC and just recently having the International Justice Court rule against Japan’s “scientific” whaling program in the Southern Ocean. But as long as whales can be hunted in the South Atlantic, it leaves the door open for thousands to be killed in the future. Eventually it will be too late to save them.

If we can pressure Tanzania to vote the right way, we have a chance to make history at this year’s IWC and save thousands of whales from a brutal fate. Are you with me?

Many of us have wrestled with intense emotions—sadness, anger, shock, and more—as we’ve followed the ongoing situation in Ferguson, Missouri.

The police killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown has ignited weeks of demonstrations. Even though most protesters have been peaceful, police appeared armed with military-grade equipment.1 Reporters have been threatened and arrested by police while trying to report the story.2The whole country has been watching what’s happening in Ferguson.3

Many of us have asked: What can we do to ensure justice for Michael Brown? What is this awful situation revealing—or reminding us—about racism in America, police militarization, and the way our criminal justice system too often fails communities of color?

Many of us have been moved to take action. Nearly 150,000 MoveOn members joined ColorOfChange.org to call on the Department of Justice to intervene in the investigation into Michael Brown’s death. That petition will be delivered next week in Washington, DC.

Tens of thousands of us added our names to MoveOn member and Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed’s petition calling for an independent prosecutor in the case. And many of us have made phone calls, joined community protests and vigils, and more.

MoveOn member and Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed delivered tens of thousands of MoveOn member signatures in St. Louis this week, and her campaign has drawn coverage from CNN to the Wall Street Journal and beyond.4

The vigils and national outcry have already had an impact in Ferguson. Attorney General Eric Holder—who came to meet with Ferguson residents in person—is overseeing a Department of Justice investigation.5 The FBI is conducting an investigation into civil rights abuses by the Ferguson police department.6 And a grand jury has been convened to determine if charges will be filed against Officer Darren Wilson.7

We still have much left to do and many complex issues to address before Ferguson—and America—can heal and move forward. There is no quick fix. But there are things we can all do right now to get involved in the push for justice.

There’s also a huge amount of thoughtful online commentary that’s been sparked by this tragedy. Whatever you’re reading about Ferguson now, consider passing it along to a friend to keep the conversation going. Here’s one option: This piece from MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” puts the story in a broader perspective in a conversation with Marq Claxton, a retired New York Police Department detective, and Phillip Agnew, founder of the young activist group Dream Defenders:

Together, let’s continue to reflect, to speak out, and to take action.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

If Senator John McCain had his way, we’d be arming ISIS in Syria and fighting them on-the-ground after they cross over the border into Iraq.

It’s enough to make you wonder why television news shows have him on so often.

Last year, as President Obama considered arming Syrian rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, Senator McCain snuck into the country to meet with opposition leaders. While he was there, he paused for some photos — including some with ISIS militants.

Today, just over a year later, he wants to fight ISIS in Iraq – ostensibly against the weapons he wants to provide them in Syria.

It’s sad to say, but John McCain has exhausted his last measure of credibility.

(Pictured: Senator McCain poses for photo with ISIS Fighters)
In 2013, John McCain made twenty-five appearances on various Sunday network talk shows — often criticizing those opposed to military intervention in Syria.

After taking photos with ISIS rebels in Syria, he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that “It was a very moving experience to meet these fighters who have been struggling now for over two years.”

It’s not that there shouldn’t be voices critical of the president on Sunday shows, but a bit of diversity from the McCain-Graham view of more war, everywhere, would be nice.

We’ll deliver all the petition signatures to producers for CBS, NBC, and ABC Sunday shows. Hopefully they’re willing to listen to veterans, military family members, and VoteVets supporters on this issue.

Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law. It’s been nearly a year since the Supreme Court upheld the law under the Constitution. And, by the way, six months ago, the American people went to the polls and decided to keep going in this direction. So the law is here to stay.

I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be — in a fair and impartial way.

They exemplified the very idea of citizenship — that with our God-given rights come responsibilities and obligations to ourselves and to others. They embodied that idea. That’s the way they died. That’s how we must remember them. And that’s how we must live.